USA > Wisconsin > Grant County > History of Grant County Wisconsin, including its civil, political, geological, mineralogical archaeological and military history > Part 46
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On Monday morning, July 17, 1891, there was another explosion of a cylinder mill. John Lorey, who was working in the mill, was killed. He was blown a quarter of a mile away and the body struck the ground with such force that it rebounded about fifteen feet. The head was almost blown off and all the clothing stripped off. Work- men McGranahan and Hayden were near the mill, but were not injured otherwise than a severe shock. The engineer, George Higley, was at his post; the concussion threw him against the boiler, bruising his head. About 7,500 pounds of powder exploded. Theloss to the com- pany was about $2,500.
On Monday afternoon, June 18, 1894, a shock which shook the buildings of Platteville like an earthquake, and a volume of smoke ris- ing over the powder mills told that another explosion had occurred there. It was in the same cylinder mill that had been twice before de- stroyed. Scarcely a stick of timber was left on the spot and the trees were stripped of foliage. The saltpeter house, about a hundred yards distant, and the charcoal mill about the same distance in another direction, were badly damaged. Fortunately no one was on the grounds at the time except the engineer, Mr. George Higley, and he escaped unhurt.
The last and worst of these explosions occurred a little after three o'clock in the afternoon of February 24, 1900. The cylinder mill, the usual place for the origin of such explosions, was the first to explode. The fiery debris thrown from this mill caused an explosion in two of the press-mills. The pulverizer caught fire and burned up. The engine room and other buildings were badly damaged. Thomas D. Bass, who had charge of the cylinder mill, had finished charging the cylinders and had given the engineer the signal to start the engine. A few seconds more and he would have left the building, but in these few seconds the explosion came. His body was blown to a considerable distance and badly mutilated, all the clothing being burned off. William Rottiker and Fred Genthe, who worked in one of the press-mills, were also killed. H. S. Deck, a civil engineer in the employment of the company,
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was badly injured. He was superintending the replacing of some old machinery with new and was in one of the press-mills at the time of the accident. E. F. Newton, the superintendent of the works, had just returned from a visit to the works at Pleasant Prairie. He had entered the grounds, but before he could reach any of the buildings the explo- sion occurred and the body of Mr. Bass dropped within a few steps of him. Several of the employees had narrow escapes.
The mills have not since been rebuilt and perhaps never will be.
The explosions were all unaccountable, unless we suppose that a bit of gravel got into the cylinder and ignited the powder by the friction.
OTHER MANUFACTORIES.
Butler's Carriage Factory .- This establishment was the develop- ment of a small wagon-shop by one Mahaffy, in a small frame building near the present factory, begun sometime in the forties. It was pur- chased by Calvin Russell in 1848. J. Cheever was carrying on a wagon-shop in 1847, but he also sold out to Russell. The latter built the large frame building (afterward occupied as the paint-shop estab- lishment), employed eight hands and manufactured about two hun- dred wagons a year. In 1863 Alexander Butler, who had been for some years an employee of Mr. Russell, bought the business, and con- tinued to carry it on. Finding his building too small, in 1869 he erected a large brick building of two stories forty feet square, and put in new and more extensive machinery. The building cost $3,000. For years Mr. Butler employed ten hands and did business to the amount of about $25,000 a year. But he found himself unable to compete with the great factories in the cities in carriage-making, and so he gradually withdrew from the business, and now has a modest blacksmith and wagon-shop a little north of the old factory, which is now occupied as a hardware store and dwelling.
Hawley & Son's Carriage Factory .- In 1846 Gideon Hawley came to Platteville and began work as a wagon-maker. He soon associated with Henry C. Lane, a blacksmith, and carried on work in a shop on Main Street on the site of P. D. Hendershot's harness-shop. In 1847 P. B. Mcintyre bought Lane's interest. In 1848 the firm built a brick building of twostories 24x30, and in 1859 and subsequent years made additions to it. In 1855 Mr. Hawley bought out Mr. Mcintyre's in- terestland continued the business alone. In 1867, F. A. Hawley was admitted to partnership and the business was enlarged. In 1871 the
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junior Hawley took charge of a branch house which had been estab- lished at McGregor, Iowa. The firm manufactured every description of vehicle from the lightest to the heaviest and employed thirty-three hands, and did a business of $33,000 a year. Mr. Hawley withdrew from the carriage business, and in 1870, with the advent of the rail- road, he built an elevator opposite the depot, and in company with his sons and other partners, did a large business in handling grain and produce, having branch houses in several other towns. With the de- cline of wheat and flax culture in the county this business declined. In 1887 the elder Hawley sold out and removed to Denver, Colo.
Bass's Mill .- This was built by N. W. Bass in 1847, on the Little Platte, about three miles southwest of Platteville. It is a frame build- ing, 30x40, and cost $4,500. At the time of the erection bolted wheat flour was a Sunday luxury in Grant County, and this was the first mill in this part of the county to furnish it. McKee's mill, about five miles from Platteville in the town of Harrison (for a sketch, see His- tory of Harrison on a subsequent page), was only a "corn-cracker" The machinery was brought from New Orleans and was up to the times, but was afterward replaced by more modern appliances. It had two runs of stones. After many years of operation Mr. Bass leased the mill for a year to Henry Pearce, and several years afterward to F. C. Folts. In 1880 new and improved machinery was put in.
Cheever's Mill .- This mill, on the road to Potosi, but within the city limits, was begun in 1859 by J. Cheever, and finished in May, 1860. The original building was 32x18, two stories high, but in 1865 an addition 14x32 was built on, and in 1866 another 8x32. The total cost was about $3,500. The mill at one time had two runs of stones, but one run was afterward taken out. In April, 1881, the mill with forty-three acres of land was sold for $2,000 to H. B. Phillips, who operated it a short time and then abandoned it.
Platteville Woolen Mills .- This establishment, a mile and a half north of the city, was established in 1848 by Davidson & Fairchild, and called the Limestone Carding Mills. In 1855 it was bought by E. A. Robinson. It was burned during the war and rebuilt in 1865 by N. W. Bass. In 1866 it was owned by Bass & Nye. The building is a frame with a stone basement. In 1880 the mill employed eight hands and was worked principally on blankets and flannels. The annual sales were about $25,000. Like Platteville's other manufactures, it
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could not stand the competition of the great plants and was aban- doned soon after 1880.
Snowden's Foundry and Machine Shop .- This establishment was begun early in 1850 by R. & G. Snowden. It was located on Second Street, between Rountree and Cedar. At this time there was a small foundry at Galena, but none in Dubuque nor anywhere else in the Lead Region. The Snowden Brothers started in on a considerable scale, building a steam engine the first year. The shop was of brick 25x36. The firm manufactured engines, pumps, turbines, castings for mills and machinery and a great variety of work. At one time their work went all over the State, but with the building up of large cities with immense plants, the Platteville foundry was obliged to restrict its work to local demands. Robert Snowden went West in war time and Randolph Snowden, the remaining member of the firm, committed sui- cide in 1883, making an end of the business.
Straw's Furnace .- This old furnace is on the Dubuque road inside the city limits. It was built in 1838 by James R. Vineyard and Leon- ard Coates, and was 20x40, with one shaft and a capacity for smelt- ing two "shifts" of mineral a day. After operating the furnace day and night for four years, the proprietors sold it to O'Hara & Hopper for $4,000. In about five years more the latter firm sold to Leonard Coates and Robert Chapman. Henry Snowden was also a silent partner. The new proprietors put in another shaft at a cost of $1,500, and did an immense business. From 1848 until 1851 Mr. Coates con- ducted the business, when he sold it to Straw, Spenseley & Staley. Staley was killed by accident and Straw & Spenseley continued to carry on the business. In 1880 the furnace was turning out 350 pigs a week. An account of the output of this furnace will be found on pages 238-9. It ceased operations in 1892, and in 1893 Mr. Straw died.
Rickard's Machine Shop .- This shop was established about 1860, on Furnace, near Mineral Street by Rickard & Son. The firm engaged in building engines, saw machines, fan-blowers, turning-lathes, etc. In 1874 the establishment was moved into a new shop at the east end of Mineral Street. About 1880 it engaged in the manufacture of the Gratiot Patent Heater, a device invented by a resident of Platte- ville for drying grain preparatory to grinding. The firm turned out fifteen of the heaters a week, employing four hands. This industry has also declined.
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The Platteville Brewery .- This was built in 1868 by Dennis Cent- liver. In 1871 John Kemler became the possessor through foreclosure of a mortgage. Immediately afterward the brewery was destroyed by fire. In 1872 the main building was rebuilt. It is of stone fifty- six feet square, two stories high. There is an ice-house, of stone 25x56, and a barn 20x30 with two stories and basement; also a brick dwell- ing 20x30, two stories.
In the fall of 1875 the brewery was sold to Richard Briscoe and H. F. Rehmsted, who conducted the business until 1878, when the estab- lishment went into the hands of a receiver, John Kemler, who after- ward became half owner of the property.
Genesee Mill .- This was built in the spring of 1851 by N. H. Vir- gin, on the Little Platte near the Lancaster road, two miles from the city. The building is of stone 36x40, two stories high. It had three runs of stones. In 1864 Mr. Virgin sold to Julius Augustine for $7,- 500. The latter carried on the business till 1869, when he sold to Stephen Carhart for $10,000. A year afterward Carhart sold to Burley Jacobs, and in 1879 J. C. Holloway became the owner under the foreclosure of a mortgage. The mill was operated only at inter- vals after that and was at last abandoned.
Virgin's Flour Mills .- In the fall of 1838 J. H. Rountree, N. H. Virgin, and Neeley Gray formed a partnership for the erection of a grist-mill. Platteville then depended on McKee's "corn-cracker" five miles distant. In the spring of 1839 the firm began putting up the frame of a mill building, the timbers having been cut and hewn the previous winter. The work went on slowly and was not completed until the spring of 1840, and the machinery was not got into working order till the fall of that year. It was a three-story frame building 36x40, with two runs of stones driven by an overshot wheel; capacity 150 bushels a day. In 1843 Mr. Rountree withdrew, and in 1849 Mr. Gray did likewise, and Mr. Virgin became sole owner. In 1863 the old building was torn down and a new stone building of the same dimen- sions erected on the site. The cost of the new mill was $10,000.
Butter Tub Factories-In 1870 A. Potter established a butter tul- factory on Elm Street, and for a time it employed six hand- and turned out about two thousand tubs a month. but in a few years the business declined. Conrad Weitenhiller succeeded Mr. Potter in a modest busi- per. In 1890 John D. Plapp established a shop near Butler's factory,
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and it now turns out about two thousand tubs a month and some other cooper work.
In 1853 an oil mill was established in Platteville by Moore & Hays, but with the decline of flax culture the mill was abandoned.
The manufacture in Platteville probably employing more hands than any other branch is that of cigars. M. S. Sickle & Co. have a factory employing about twenty-five hands, and Knebel & Steffens have one somewhat smaller.
The city has a system of waterworks constructed in 1896. The contract for the works, exclusive of the well, was let to Fairbanks, Morse & Co., of Chicago, for $13,635. The well is 1,740 feet deep, go- ing down into the Potsdam Sandstone for soit water.
A system of electric lights was put in a few years ago under a fran- chise to private parties. In winter the plant heats several buildings with ste .in. The street lamps are of the incandescent type.
".atteville Cemetery Association .- The first cemetery of Platte- ville was laid out on land donated by Rountree & Virgin, south of Virgin's mill. Here the dead of Platteville were buried until about 1850, when the space became.all occupied with graves and a new cem- etery became necessary. The old one was deeded to the village on condition that the village should forever care for it. A cemetery asso- ciation was formed September 15, 1855, with the following officers: John Lewis, president ; I. S. Clark, secretary; V. P Eastman, treas- urer; N. Goodrich, J. L. Pickard, H. C. Lane, H. Perry, John Lewis, and William Butler, trustees. Ten acres of land in Section 16; west of the city, was purchased and laid out and handsomely adorned.
CHURCHES.
Methodist Episcopal Church .- In the spring of 1832 Major Roun- tree and his wife and W. B. Vineyard and his wife met in a log cabin on Major Rountree's grounds and organized a Methodist class, the first in what is now Grant County. Rev. Smith L. Robinson preached a few times, but on the outbreak of the Black Hawk War he left the lead mines. Rev. John Mitchell came in the fall of 1832 and preached in the log house referred to. The next year both he and Rev. Barton Randall were assigned to this circuit and meetings were held at Platte- ville with some regularity. When the log school-house was built on the east side of Section 16, it was used as a meeting-house. There was preaching by Revs. Hooper Cruse, John Hadley, James Mitchell, and
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Lorenzo Bevans, who united the calling of exhorter with those of law- yer and prospector. In the early winter of 1836 Rev. James Mitchell had a great revival, services being held in a log house on the corner of Furnace and Fourth Streets. The population of the settlement having largely increased, the need of a more commodious church building was felt. Rev. Samuel Mitchell, an old but energetic man: came to Platte- ville in the spring of 1837 and succeeded in raising a subscription of $1,500 for building a Methodist church, but the amount was not suffi- cient and the work was postponed. In January, 1839, Major Roun- tree deeded to the trustees of the M. E. Church a lot on condition that the basement of the church building to be built on it should be used for a school. The trustees were Samuel Mitchell, John F. Lyttle, James Mitchell, Robert Chapman, Peter Bell. J. H. Rountree, Bennett At- wood, A. R. T. Locey, and William C. Smith. The building was erected in the summer of 1839. It was a frame 30X40, capable of seating three hundred persons. Rev. Wellington Weigley preached the dedi- catory sermon. The building cost $2,600. It has been repeatedly stated in print that this church was built in 1837, but the conditions of the deed of the lot show that it was not built before 1839.
In 1837 a Methodist preacher named B. Weed came to Platteville and in a short time got into trouble with the resident preacher, James Mitchell, who combined the pursuit of lucre as a merchant with the preaching of the gospel. Weed preferred charges against Mitchell and a long-drawn trial disturbed the Methodist society for two years, when the tribunal decided that Mr. Mitchell was not guilty of-what- ever it was.
The amount raised by subscription had not been sufficient to pay for che church building at the time it was built, and Major Rountree advanced the rest on a mortgage, which he was obliged to foreclose some years later. By 1845, however, the society had become suffi- ciently wealthy to begin the erection of a brick church on the corner of Main and Chestnut Streets. The veteran Samuel Mitchell was still the leading spirit in raising the money and spending it, supervising the details of building. The church was of brick, 40X50, with a steeple. It served as a place of worship for about thirty years. In 1877 it was decided to have a new church. Rev. G. W. Case, Major Rountree, and Captain John Grindell were appointed a building committee. They visited Oregon, Illinois, and decided to adopt the plan of the church there with some changes and improvements. The old church was de-
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molished to clear the site for the new one. While the latter was being built the congregation held services in the Stone School-house. The corner-stone of the edifice was laid in July. 1877, Revs. Bonson and Knox officiating. The building was roofed and the lecture-room pre- pared for services that fall and the whole building completed the next year. The dedicatory sermon was preached on Thanksgiving Day,
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, PLATTEVILLE.
1878, by Rev. Dr. Hatfield, of Chicago. The edifice is on the corner of Main and Chestnut Streets, fronting on the former. It is of brick, 60X90, of the Queen Anne style of architecture. It has one tower one hundred feet and another seventy feet high above the pavement. Its seating capacity is one thousand and it is practically fire-proof. Be-
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fore the establishment of the electric light plant the church was lighted with gas manufactured on the premises. In one of the towers is a clock that cost $1,025. There are six memorial windows: one at the southern front to the memory of Mrs. Mary Grace Rountree, by her family; two on the eastern front, one in memory of the veteran Sam- uel Mitchell and his wife Eleanor, contributed by John H. Rountree, J. S. Mitchell, J. F. Mitchell, and John T. Hancock-the other to Fred- erick V. Hollman and his wife, contributed by their son, James Holl- man; two at the western end, one to Mr. and Mrs. John McMurty, and the other to Mrs. Hannah Howdle; also one to Mr. and Mrs. David Cook.
Since 1840 the church has had the following pastors: 1841, Solo- mon Stebbins; 1842, Charles N. Wayar; 1843, J. G. Whitford ; 1844, Rufus J. Harvey ; 1845-47, N. P. Heath; 1848, Isaac M. Lehiey ; 1849 -50, P. S. Bennett ; 1851, Isaac Searls; 1852-53, W. Wilcox; 1854- 55, Isaac M. Stagg; 1856-57, James Lawson; 1858-59, Enoch Tas- ker; 1860, J. C. Aspinwall; 1861-62, Edwin Buck; 1863-65, James Lawson; 1866-68, P. S. Mather; 1869-71, John Knibbs; 1872-73, W H. Palmer ; 1874-75, A. D. Dexter ; 1876-78, G. W.Case; 1879-81, H. Goodsell; 1882, W. R. Irish; 1883, A. J. Davis; 1884-85, Bert E. Wheeler ; 1886-87, E. E. Clough ; 1888-89, William M. Martin ; 1890- 91, John Tresidder; 1892-94, S. W. Trousdale; 1895-97. H. W. Troy; 1898, O. A. Luse; 1899-1900, H. E. Beaks.
Primitive Methodist Church. This society was organized in Platte- ville in 1847, by Rev. Mr. Lazembee. The original society consisted of John Trenary, John Chapman, John Clayton, Mark Waters and his wife, Mrs. Mary Bonson, Mrs. Verran, and Henry Snowden and his family, and perhaps a few others. The members first attended church at Shullsburg. About 1850 a small church building was erected near the corner of Cedar and Second Streets, and about ten years later a brick building about thirty-five feet square, with a seating capacity of two hundred, was erected on the site of the old church. Since then the scoiety has built a parsonage. The following are some of the pastors: Revs. Frederick Dobson, James Evans, John Sharpe, Charles Dawson Charles Doughty, George Wells, Henry Lewis, Christopher Hendra, Joseph[Hewitt, John Harrington, James Arnold, and Aaron Breeze.
The Congregational Church .- Next to the M. E. Church this is the oldest church society organized in western Wisconsin. It was organ- ized as a Presbyterian congregation, August 17, 1839, with nine mem-
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bers. The first year it had no preacher and no church building. In August, 1840, the Rev. Solomon Chaffee began to preach in Platte- ville on alternate Sundays. The same fall Rev. James Gallagher, an itinerant evangelist of the Presbyterian faith, came to Platteville and held protracted meetings in the Methodist church. He converted about thirty who joined the church, and in a short time collected $85, and, while rumors began to come in that he was a " blackleg," he dis- appeared. There was never any confirmation of the rumors. For a time the society held worship on the ground floor of the new academy building completed in 1842. Rev. A. M. Dixon preached in 1841 and 1842; in November of that year Rev. E. G. Bradford began preaching and continued till early in 1844. In the summer of that year Rev. J. D. Stevens became the pastor of the society and continued as such about three years. In 1844 the society bought two lots as a church site, and the next year began the erection of a church building, which was completed and dedicated December 20, 1846. On September 1, 1847, Rev. John Lewis began a long and successful pastorate. In July, 1849, the society, by a unanimous vote, and in accordance with a special act of the legislature, changed its name and form of govern- ment from Presbyterian to Congregational. The society grew consid- erably, principally from accessions during revivals in 1849, 1851, and 1855. The health of Mr. Lewis having become very poor, the congre- gation gave him a recess of a year, his place being filled by Rev. D. W. Pickard. In 1860 the church accepted his repeatedly tendered resig- nation, and five months afterward he died. In the interim the pulpit was supplied by Rev. Charles Jones and occasionally others, until De- cember, 1861, when Rev. J. E. Pond accepted the pastorate. In 1868 the second church building was torn down to clear the site (at the corner of Bonson and Furnace Streets) for the erection of a new build- ing. The plans were proposed by George Nettleton, to cost $11,000, and the building promptly put up. The dedicatory sermon was preached July 19, 1869, by Rev. Dr. Whiting of Dubuque. At the close of the sermon the matter of the church debt was brought up and in less than an hour's time a sufficient sum to pay it off was subscribed. Mr. Pond's ministry continued until 1872, and was fairly prosperous. In November of that year Rev. A. P. Johnson, of Woodstock, Ill., ac- cepted the pastorate on six months' trial, and at the end of that time became the permanent pastor, continuing in that capacity until 1886. He was succeeded by Rev. W. H. Carter, who remained until 1893 and was succeeded by Rev. Charles Wight, the present pastor.
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St. Mary's Catholic Church .- In the fall of 1842 the Rev. James Causseestablished a mission at Platteville and said mass in the houses of John Morrison, Bernard McKernan, and John Micka. He suc- ceeded in raising money to begin building a church that year and complete it in 1843, but for some reason it was not dedicated nor used until 1844, mass being said meanwhile at private houses. The church was a frame 24x36. Many contributions were made by non-Catholic residents, Major Rountree donating the lot. The members of the con- gregation in 1844 were John Morrison, John Micka, Bernard McKer- nan and the families of these, Edward Dorsey, David Gardner, Patrick Bannagan, Anthony Hallagan, Owen Gallagher, James McLaughlin, Michael Maher, Peter Carroll, Frank Fies, J. Droulette, Philip Reilly, Patrick McMahon, Cornelius and Joseph Schutner, Casper Hermann, Mrs. Pitts, James Savage, Patrick O'Malley, the Hennessey brothers, the McGovern brothers, and others. The church was a mission at- tached to the Potosi and Mineral Point parishes for some years, but afterward became an independent parish. In the spring of 1871 the foundation of a church building was laid. The corner-stone was laid May 13, with appropriate ceremonies, Rev. H. P. Albrecht preaching the sermon. The construction was pushed with vigor, and on Novem- ber 21 of the same year the building was dedicated, the Right Rev. Bishop Henni officiating. The edifice is of brick 40x80, with a seat- ing capacity of 400 and cost complete $15,000. The following pre- lates have been in charge : Rev. Fathers James Causse, Doherty, Fran- cis di Vivaldi, Martin Hobbes, M. W. Gibson, P. A. Vorssen. Charles Exel. Joseph Prasch, M J. Goerger, Philip Albrecht, J. M. Cleary, J. Gmeiner, W. Miller, Gerhardt, Wibbert, and E. Allen.
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